MPUSD's choice for superintendent named in sexual harassment lawsuit

Monterey Peninsula Unified School District trustees are confident they picked the right man for the superintendent's job, even though he has been named in a sexual harassment lawsuit.

Alain Guevara, assistant superintendent for instructional support services at Lake Elsinore Unified School District in Riverside County, has emerged as the top pick to replace retiring Superintendent Marilyn Shepherd at MPUSD. The final approval vote on Guevara will be at Monday's school board meeting.

Rumors of his impending appointment began circulating in Monterey early this week, as three trustees visited Lake Elsinore. Guevara announced his appointment Thursday evening at a Lake Elsinore board meeting, said the Riverside Press-Enterprise.

Guevara is one of four top administrators at Lake Elsinore named in a sexual harassment lawsuit. The lawsuit describes at least four incidents, which occurred mainly at administrative retreats, in which sexual, "unwelcome" conduct took place.

Guevara, 44, has worked at Lake Elsinore about 20 years, said media reports. He has also served as director of secondary curriculum and instruction services, and as principal of a middle school.

In an interview with The Fallbrook Village News in 2007, he described his efforts to reach out to the Spanish-speaking community. Born to a Cuban immigrant family, Guevara established a program for Spanish speakers to acquire a high school diploma to help equip parents with more tools to help with their children's education.

These were some of the qualities MPUSD Board President Curt Parker said he liked about Guevara.

"We're on the cusp of becoming a world-class district, we can feel it, and he's that type of a guy," Parker said. The trustees were impressed with "how committed he is to serve the needs of the population. Over and over he emphasized that students are the highest priority. We were impressed one of his nicknames is Energizer Bunny. He's always on the go, in the communities, he's built a positive relationship. That's what we need right now — someone in the community that can bring those who have felt disconnected in the past."

Parker also cites the work Guevara did at Lake Elsinore, where he is credited with helping push the district out of program improvement, which is aimed at the lowest performing schools.

Lake Elsinore Unified is almost twice the size of MPUSD, with more than 22,000 students in 15 elementary, four middle and five high schools, including an online academy. Although 52 percent of students are Latino, only 14 percent are considered English learners.

At MPUSD, 50 percent of students are Latino and 29 percent are English learners.

At Lake Elsinore, top leaders praised Guevara for his leadership and his dedication to education.

"Dr. Guevara has been innovative and effective during his tenure with LEUSD, both as a site administrator and as assistant superintendent of instructional support services," Superintendent Doug Kimberly said in an email. "He was raised locally, attended our schools, and leaves a positive record of accomplishment as an educational leader. The LEUSD Board of Directors and I respect his work ethic, knowledge and commitment to education."

Mark Dennis, spokesman for Lake Elsinore Unified, said district officials would limit their comments about Guevara to written statements at this time.

The lawsuit

Parker said Friday the trustees knew about the sexual harassment lawsuit as soon as Guevara became a finalist for the job, and that the explanation they received was satisfactory.

Parker said he was told "most of that stuff ... is not true."

"This happened — how many — three years ago?" he said. "And it stuck with him."

The lawsuit was filed in March 2012 in Riverside County, and it names Guevara and three other top administrators, including former Superintendent Frank Passarella.

Kathryn Jones, an assistant principal at Elsinore High School in Wildomar, accuses the defendants in the lawsuit of sexual harassment, sexual orientation harassment (she is a lesbian), retaliation and gender discrimination, among other things.

Jones describes feeling harassed and intimidated. After complaining to her superiors, she said, she was demoted.

At a retreat in July 2009, new employees were required to wear "rookie" hats, many of which had vulgar decorations, she said. During this retreat, Guevara did some type of pole dancing with a female administrator, the lawsuit says.

Guevara also allegedly instructed administrators to draw objects that later were interpreted as the "way you like sex." The lawsuit says attorneys there to provide sexual harassment training began after Guevara finished his exercise, and said they were going to "lock the door and keep him in the room for training."

The last incident cited in the lawsuit took place in July 2011. Jones received a "right to sue letter" later that year, and filed her lawsuit in March 2012.

Guevara called and left a message with The Herald on Friday morning, but subsequent efforts to reach him were unsuccessful.

In an email to the MPUSD community, trustee Dianne Creasey urges everyone to "get accurate information before making huge inaccurate assumptions."

"Just ask the VP principal who sued the district, who still works for the district, who wanted $5,000,000 and now is quite sorry for her actions and wishes she had not filed the suit," Creasey wrote, referring to Jones.

Jones told The Herald on Friday, "I've never said that. I'm proceeding with litigation."

The matter "will go to trial if (the district) is not willing to resolve the matter before trial," said Donald Holben, attorney for Jones.

'Keep an open mind'

After the sometimes rocky relationship former Superintendent Marilyn Shepherd had with the community, many believe MPUSD needed a clean slate, and some feel the specter of the lawsuit bodes poorly for Guevara.

"It's unfortunate. You want to start fresh," said Brett McFadden, a former consultant with Association of California School Administrators. "You want to come in and have people be firm believers. It's imperative that my employees — many of whom that don't make a lot of money — it's imperative they believe their leader is doing what's right."

Allyson Schweifler of the Monterey Bay Teachers Association said she received phone calls from teachers expressing their concerns, but she said she isn't quick to rush to judgment.

"The allegations have not been verified," she said. "I have to keep an open mind.

"Regardless of whether the allegations are true or not, this is the atmosphere in which we're going to move forward. I voiced my concerns and I've been assured (trustees) did their due diligence."

Joanna Greenshields, president of the Monterey High Parent Teachers Association, said that after talking to acquaintances in Southern California, she's confident the trustees have picked a man who puts children first, someone who actually likes children, has strong people skills and is ethical.

"I look forward to hearing his plans on how to move our district," she said. "My issues as a parent are the content of the curriculum. We will all be wanting different things. I look forward to meeting him and hearing what he has planned."